Day 7 – Keith
I’ve really been looking forward to today as I really wanted to ride all the way up to the beginning of the Columbia river with the Mica dam. This is one of the roads that is labelled on the Destination Highways book in the north country so I had to ensure we have ridden it.
We started the day pretty slowly and I don’t think we got onto the road until 10:30 and headed into Revy for breakfast. We stopped off at the Big Bend Cafe for some good strong coffee and I had a hankering for pancakes.
After breakfast we checked our fuel and began our one way trip up and one way back to the Revelstoke. It did not take long and we were greeted by the sight of the second dam as part of the Columbia river treaty with the USA, the Revelstoke dam. It’s a pretty impressive sight to see and provides a good amount of power and flood mitigation to the province of BC.
We continued on and about 68km in we hit the big bend around Revelstoke lake where Dowine Creek flows in and there is a campground with its namesake close by. We pulled in to have a quick Look as Curtis at Infinite Power Sports indicated this is the best spot on the lake. We both agreed this would be a good spot to hit on the way back and go for a swim.
Another 80 km we made it to the dam. I do have to say it was quite impressive for what we could actually see. It’s a huge earthen built dam built to hold back Kinbasket lake that stretches all the way to Valemount.
We begun our way back to Revy and decided to go for a swim when we got back to Downie Creek campsite. Using a towel, stealthily positioned we were both able to change without flashing children or anyone else. I have to say the water was spectacular, a slight chill but absolutely clear. After our dip we dried off, changed and jumped back on the bikes . This is where the nervous Keith comes out. I knew that this was potently a push for Leah’s bike in terms of fuel range. I indicated that I would follow after the big bend, giving Leah the signal she passed me by and lead for the remainder back.
About 39 km from Revy I noticed that Leah had reached down to turn her fuel from on to reserve. To me this was not a good sign, my old sporty would get maybe a maximum of 40 km on reserve so I was really hoping with the bigger tank she would go a little further so I would not have to backtrack with a Jerry can. Sure enough she made it into the Chevron with fuel to spare, giving me some relief.
After fuelling up we headed back to camp and then quickly as we stopped, Leah jumped on my bike to head back up the road about 2 mins away from camp to Mt. Begbie Brewing. For those that know, Mount Begbie has been brewing for a long time with a staple beer being the tall timber ale. We both ordered a flight and some food and then headed back to camp for some well deserved rest.
Keith and Leah's travel on 2 wheels 